The Social Assistance Review Commissioners asked for any submissions in response to their Discussion paper #2 by March 16, 2012.
Poverty Free Ontario has no central coordinating resources to enable any organizing around this but we did provide a PFO Bulletin and Call to Action resulting from our last cross-community tele-call in February.
A number of communities have used these materials and their own local discussions to get their views in, all very consistent with the conversation that we had in February. Below are links to the submissions received by PFO. (Updated March 28, 2012)
- 25in5 Hamilton Network for Poverty Reduction/HOPE
- Beth Baskin
- Bridges Community Health Centre (Port Colborne)
- Hastings & Prince Edward Children & Youth Services Network
- Christian Resource Centre (Toronto)
- Community Roundtable on Poverty (Welland)
- Toronto Christian Resource Centre
- Do the Math Working Group of York Region
- Fairlawn Avenue United Church (Toronto)
- Food Security Network of Hastings & Prince Edward Counties
- Hope Centre Group (Welland)
- Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition
- Niagara Prosperity Community Committee
- Niagara Region
- O.D.S.P. Action Coalition
- Poverty Free Halton/Community Development Halton
- Put Food in the Budget (PFIB) Community Toolkit
- The Provincial Council of Women of Ontario
- Regent Park Community Health Centre (Toronto)
- The Social Assistance Reform Network of Niagara (SARNN)
- Social Issues Networking Group (SING) (Kingston)
- Social Planning Council of Sudbury
- June Callwood Campaign Against Child Poverty (Toronto)
- Voices for Change Halton
- Oak Centre ODSP Group (Niagara)
- The Stop Community Food Centre (Toronto)
- Social Planning Council of Kitchener-Waterloo
- Anglican Diocese of Niagara
- Angela L. Browne, Paralegal & Court Agent (St. Catharines)
Putting a Face to Social Assistance
by the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZx9PUahF2M
http://www.peoplepowermedia.net/portfolio-post/waiting-for-affordable-housing/
Posted by Ren | October 22, 2012, 3:14 amI really like to see evidence of abuse. People want to get OFF social assistance and they WANT to get OUT of poverty. How can somebody abuse such a piddly amount of money each month,when in many cases, it barely covers the rent? I am so sick and tired of listening to the uneducated poor bashers of this province, who have never walked a mile in any of these people’s shoes. I have began to see people who are suffering from malnutrition based conditions that were previously thought of as only existing in the so called “third world”. One might ask why are many Ontarians suffering from them? Yeah, people wake up in the morning and decide they want to starve on this subsistence and become a victim of financial abuse by the state. The social assistance reform has to be based on helping people move forward, keep more of their earnings, enter into relationships (instead of being punished for doing so) and to help them save for retirement. The current system contradicts any form of common sense that I, as a person in business, sees as the right way to manage one’s money. Perhaps the only way this government will learn is through a class action lawsuit, where they will have to pay dearly … and stop handing out money and tax benefits to the wealthy people that can afford to survive without them.
Posted by Angela Browne | October 2, 2012, 12:59 amHmmmm. A class action law suit sounds good to me. Bet we’d get “flagged” for signing up. What a country. TVO has had excellent coverage on the issues.
Posted by Lupus-sucks | December 1, 2012, 10:19 amPeople are abusing the system and some are starting to depend on it.
There needs to be a better balance put into place.
Posted by REAPER911 | March 29, 2012, 5:12 pmThere will always be unemployable people and people with chronic needs of assistance. There is no balance. There is abuse in every facet of life including rich and financial institutions and there is discrimination. Blamng the poor is an ignorant one sided perception.
Posted by Louiis | October 17, 2012, 1:26 pmSo true. We should stop bailing out ineffective corporations with tax payers’ money. We should make policy makers live on an ODSP income for one year. My rent is $925 on an ODSP income.
Posted by Lupus-sucks | December 1, 2012, 10:16 am